Entries in Bill Belichick
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(FOXBORO, Ma.) -- The New England Patriots are keeping the lynchpin of their secondary at home in Gillette Stadium.

Devin McCourty has agreed to a five-year, $47.5 million dollar contract with the Super Bowl champions, with $28.5 million guaranteed, according to multiple NFL sources.

"To me, it was just hitting certain numbers I wanted. I felt like myself, my agents and the Patriots worked together. We got it done," McCourty told the Boston Herald. "I think it was no secret. I told everyone I wanted to be back. It was a business, and I felt the business side got done."

McCourty, 28, has had eight interceptions and five forced fumbles over the past three seasons.

With one key member of the Patriots secondary secured, the attention shifts to Darrelle Revis, who the New England can exercise a $20 million dollar roster option on until Monday. If the team declines the option, Revis will become a free agent.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images(GLENDALE, Ariz.) -- With his team's victory over the Seattle Seahawks Sunday night, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has joined Chuck Noll in a very exclusive club: the only head coaches in NFL history to win four Super Bowl titles.

Belichick's legacy consists of leading the Pats to nine AFC Championship games and four Super Bowl victories in six appearances, all in a 13-year span with New England.

In Belichick's 20-year coaching career, he has a regular season record of 211-109, and a 21-9 postseason record.

In a back-and-forth game Sunday night, the outcome came on the hands of undrafted rookie corner Malcom Butler. With less than 30 seconds to go and the Seahawks on New England’s three-yard line, Russell Wilson fired a pass to Ricardo Lockette at the goal line. Butler broke on the route and intercepted the pass, sealing the victory for the Patriots.

Tom Brady showed some struggles against the high-speed Seahawks defense by throwing a pick on the opening drive and again to Bobby Wagner late in the third quarter. The second interception appeared costly, as Wilson led a six-play touchdown drive to give Seattle a 24-14 lead. Brady would rally his team in the fourth quarter, leading two 60-plus yard touchdown drives with the game-leading score coming at 2:02, when he found Julian Edelman.

Brady would finish 37 of 50 for 328 yards and four touchdown passes, breaking Joe Montana's record for career touchdown passes in the Super Bowl, and would capture his third Super Bowl MVP.

After two weeks of headlines regarding deflated footballs, Bill Belichick and Brady cemented their eventual Hall of Fame status.

NFL Media(PHOENIX) -- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick held a joint press conference on Friday as the two teams near closer to Super Bowl 49 on Sunday.

"This is about an opportunity at this time to be special this year," Belichick said. "We care about what happens on Sunday. It's really nothing about anything that has happened [in the past]."

Seattle had the fortune of being in this position last year and Carroll said his team did everything they had to do in order to be ready for kickoff on Sunday.

"We've had a great two weeks," Carroll said. "Everybody's in good shape for us, we're ready to go."

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will be the youngest quarterback to play twice in the big game since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

"That has nothing to do with what is going on," Carroll said of Wilson.

The 'Legion of Boom' will be one of the toughest defenses that the Patriots will face all year. "They're strong in every area," Belichick said. "It's been a huge challenge, it's a tough team to prepare for."

"Each of us has a job to do," Belichick said of their team slogan, Do your job. "That's kind of the backbone of our organization."

Brady is seeking his fourth Super Bowl ring that will put him in the elite company of Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.

"As a sixth rounder he's showed it isn't where you start, it's where you finish," Carroll said of Brady.

IStockPhoto/ Thinkstock(PHOENIX) -- Media Day for Super Bowl 49 featuring the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots took place on Tuesday. The annual event is better known for its festive atmosphere than for hard-hitting X's and O's questions.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked what his favorite stuffed animal is. "I like a little puppet. You can kind of put your fingers in. It's a little monkey, and then he can talk and move his fingers and nod his head, so he can kind of talk back to you."

A reporter asked Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski if he'll be watching the halftime show featuring pop singer Katy Perry. "No. We'll be in the locker room preparing for the second half."

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, known as a man of few words when it comes to speaking with the media, answered every question he was asked with some variation of "I'm here so I won't get fined."

Lynch has been fined a total of $100,000 this season for violating the league's media policy.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images(FOXBOROUGH, Mass.) -- New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick felt compelled to address questions that his team supposedly deflated footballs before the AFC Championship Game, so he did an investigation of his own and than spoke about it.

At an unscheduled press conference Saturday Belichick explained how he learned more about air pressure this week then he learned in a lifetime around football. And after learning exactly how the team prepares footballs before a game, and what can impact a balls weight, he came to a definite conclusion:

"I believe now 100 percent that I have personally and we as an organization have absolutely followed every rule to the letter."

Belichick then got emotional and defended his team, saying, "We did everything as right as we can do it."

After explaining he was embarrassed with how much time he put into investigating this when his team is preparing to play in a Super Bowl, Belichick broke down what he learned.

"When the footballs are delivered to the officials' locker room, the officials were asked to inflate them to 12.5 PSI," he said. "What exactly they did, I don't know. But, for the purposes of our study, that's what we did. We set them at 12.5 (PSI). That's at the discretion of the official regardless of what we ask for, it's the official's discretion to put them where he wants. Again, that's done in a controlled climate.

"The footballs are prepared in our locker room. They are delivered to the officials' locker room, which is a controlled environment. ... When the footballs go out onto the field into game conditions, whatever those conditions are, whether it's hot and humid, cold and damp, cold and dry, whatever it is, that's where the footballs are played with, and that's where the measurements would be different -- possibly different -- from what they are in a controlled environment, and that's what we found."

Belichick would go on to explain some more, before saying he was done talking about "Deflategate" for a good amount of time.

"This is the end of this subject for me for a long time, OK?" Belichick said. "We have a huge game, a huge challenge for our football team and that's where that focus is going to go."

Scott Boehm/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The NFL has conducted 40 interviews so far in search of an answer for the 11 of 12 footballs that were deflated during the Patriots 45-7 win over the Colts in the AFC Championship game on Sunday.

The investigation is being led by NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash and attorney Ted Wells, who handled the Miami Dolphins bullying situation.

"While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were underinflated were used by the Patriots in the first half, the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated," the NFL's statement read.

"The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action," the statement continued. "We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence."

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick both said they had no knowledge of how the balls were deflated on Thursday.

"Prior to the game, the game officials inspect the footballs to be used by each team and confirm that this standard is satisfied, which was done before last Sunday's game," the statement said of the 11 footballs that were below the league standard of 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch.

"The playing rules are intended to protect the fairness and integrity of our games. We take seriously claims that those rules have been violated and will fully investigate this matter without compromise or delay. The investigation is ongoing, will be thorough and objective, and is being pursued expeditiously. In the coming days, we expect to conduct numerous additional interviews, examine video and other forensic evidence, as well as relevant physical evidence."

"Our investigation will seek information from any and all relevant sources, and we expect full cooperation from other clubs as well. As we develop more information and are in a position to reach conclusions, we will share them publicly."

Leon Halip/Getty Images(FOXBOROUGH, Mass.) -- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said on Thursday that he was "shocked" when he heard that the NFL found 11 of 12 footballs deflated that were used in their 45-7 AFC Championship game win over the Colts on Sunday.

Belichick said that the organization is still cooperating with the NFL as the investigation continues.

"When I came in Monday morning I was shocked to learn of the news reports about the footballs," Belichick said. "I had no knowledge whatsoever of the situation until Monday morning."

"I would say I've learned a lot more about this process than I knew or talked about it in the last 40 years," Belichick continued.

Belichick said that when the team practices, he makes sure that they play with the worst footballs.

"We never use the condition of the footballs as an excuse," Belichick said. "We play with whatever or kick with whatever we have to use and that's the way it is."

Belichick said that the team would take the steps to avoid footballs being below the NFL standard.

Footballs, which are weighed before the game, must be inflated to no less than 12.5 pounds per square inch.

"The National Football league is investigating the situation," Belichick said. "We have cooperated fully, quickly, and completely with every request they have made."

The Patriots are preparing for a Super Bowl showdown with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.

Chicago Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin will organize the football process for the Super Bowl.

(NEW YORK) -- The New England Patriots had 11 of their 12 allotted game footballs during Sunday’s AFC Championship game under-inflated, ESPN reports, citing league sources.

The NFL's spokesman declined to address the report.

“We are not commenting at this time,” said Greg Aiello, the NFL’s senior vice president of communications.

According to ESPN’s report, the footballs used by the Patriots were reportedly under-inflated by two pounds per square inch. Footballs, which are weighed before the game, must be inflated to no less than 12.5 pounds per square inch.

A deflated ball could be easier for the quarterback to grip in bad weather, like in Sunday's rain at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. New England won the game 45-7.

Each team provides 12 new Wilson Official NFL footballs for referees to check before games, with additional balls available for backup or at the away team’s discretion. The minimum disciplinary action for tampering of a football is a fine of $25,000, according to the NFL’s game operations manual.

The controversy around “deflate-gate” has taken attention away from the Super Bowl, which features the Patriots playing against the Seattle Seahawks.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images(INDIANAPOLIS) -- Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said on Monday that he "did not notice" any deflated footballs that were being played with in their 45-7 loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

The NFL has opened up an investigation into whether the Patriots used deflated game balls in their win.

"That's something for the league to handle," Pagano said. "It's not my place to comment on it."

The league's rulebook says game balls must be inflated with between 12.5-13.5 pounds of air.

"If any individual alters the footballs, or if a non-approved ball is used in the game, the person responsible and, if appropriate, the head coach or other club personnel will be subject to discipline, including but not limited to, a fine of $25,000," the rule states.

New England will take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 49 in Arizona on Feb. 1.